[X] You'll think about it.
- [X] Keep talking.
- - [X] How does she plan to draw out Archer
- - [X] How does she plan to survive long enough for reinforcements, once she has drawn him out
- [X] Go to Ilya's and tell her about Tohsaka's plan before returning to the temple.
"Hmm …." You tap your lips with one finger. "I'll have to think about it. I don't suppose you mind my asking a couple questions?" She relaxes, oddly enough – perhaps she's simply glad you didn't decline to cooperate?
"Sure. Some things might change, depending on just who agrees to cooperate, and I don't have everything planned out, but I'll answer if I can." She leans back on the couch, and you hop off the desk and drift through the air to float along the bookshelves lining one wall.
"You said you think you can draw him out even if he's hiding somewhere other than where you think he is. How do you plan on that, and why do you think it will work?" She chuckles and you look back to see Archer frowning and looking away.
"He was my father's Servant ten years ago, so I think he'll be at least somewhat interested in me, and maybe he'll even be keeping some kind of eye on me now that he's revealed himself. Even if that's not the case, however, I was thinking about finding somewhere nice and open and deserted and making a bunch of magical noise to get his attention, then call him out for failing my father ten years ago. If he has any pride as a hero, he'll respond in some way, and he'll probably show up personally." She looks entirely too sure of herself, and Archer looks entirely too unhappy about the idea. Was she planning a suicide attack against the Archer until her Servant convinced her to cooperate? You frown and turn to face her fully – and she does look, if not afraid, then worried. She recognizes the danger she is planning on putting herself through, and while she does not desire death, she is willing to risk it.
"… You desire him to appear before you, that you may judge him. How do you intend to survive his retort, seeing as you will be alone until aid can reach you?" She takes a deep breath and looks down for a moment, then looks back up at you.
"I can use a Command Seal to call Archer to me instantly, and even if something goes wrong with that, I don't intend to go in as a sacrifice. I want that Servant dead, and I fully intend to win the Grail War after that – this is all about maximizing the chance to kill him. I'm going to go in ready to fight." She plans to go in ready to fight – at a location that appears to favor her opponent, while letting him potentially get the first strike, and without her greatest protection … and she considers this maximizing the chance to kill him. Of course, she's only human, and she couldn't have been thinking about this for more than a couple days, so it's not that surprising, especially since she doesn't know the full capabilities of her opponent. Still, it feels like getting allies is a move more of desperation than something she really wants. And, you have to admit, putting herself in such a lethal position does make sense if she's trying to acquire support for the gambit – this way, even if someone were to grant her some form of protection, it would be difficult to say she's using others to see her plan through. Archer may be killed, but exposed as she is, she stands a good chance of dying as well. And the only other person who might attract Archer's attention as well as she would is Saber, but that lure represents an obvious trap. Because Tohsaka is obviously so much more vulnerable, she has more value as an object of curiosity, and when the connection between them is taken into account, he is quite likely to go see her. Or at least attack her, depending on how she attracts his attention, but that works almost as well from your perspective. You nod at Tohsaka approvingly.
"Well, it's certainly an intriguing proposition, and I will think more on it, but I think I shall be leaving for now. Hm, you mentioned Ilya as well … I believe I shall inform her of your idea." Tohsaka stares at you in surprise, and Archer gawks as well.
"Ah, thank you. Um, if you could, it would be a great help – I know where her home is, sort of, but it would take me a while to get there to make sure any message I sent by familiar was properly received. And if you could tell Caster as well … um, hmm …." She shoots to her feet and walks around the couch to start pacing. Archer glances at her, then frowns at you. You smile at him. "Um, I hope I'm not presuming too much, but if you could tell Illyasviel to meet me in front of the Ryuudou Temple around seven tomorrow evening? I know it might be rude or threatening to Caster, but that will let me get everything settled here, see if Emiya is going to help, and then we can meet Illyasviel there, and if Caster is cooperating then we can all meet inside the temple." Archer sighs and puts one hand over his face as you cross your arms and give Tohsaka a look. She blushes but stands her ground and you snort.
"Well, while you're considering how you're going to get everyone to accept your proposal and work together, might I make a suggestion? Apparently in the last War, the overseer offered some sort of reward to get the Masters to cooperate against a rogue Servant; perhaps you might involve the priest at the church?" Of course, she's already been to him, so maybe she has his blessing in this endeavor?
"Thank you. I'll think about it." Archer frowns at his Master, and you grin sweetly at her terse response. Obviously she's been thinking things through, just as you did, and suspects him at least a little. You float back to the desk and open the window before curtsying.
"Well, regardless of whether I decide to assist your endeavor or not, may we meet again." You hop out the window and fly away before she can respond, turning toward Ilya's castle as you fly higher and pick up speed. You wonder at Tohsaka's plan – Saber said that she was unable to use her Noble Phantasm due to the circumstances of the engagement, but maybe if Archer is exposed she could pull it off. If Caster helps, she can assist in various ways: transportation, defense, power, anything, really, depending on how long Tohsaka is willing to wait. Ilya … if she joins in, Berserker can help keep Archer occupied while Caster – or Tohsaka's Archer, or Saber – make their own moves. And since he can return to life, they can even use riskier strategies. Or Berserker can help rescue Tohsaka, using his durability as a shield in a way that the smaller Servants can't. Deis … you don't think you've ever seen Deis really let loose, actually. Maybe when she saved you from Lancer ….
You frown – will Tohsaka try to get Lancer's help? It's true that she may not be able to find him, but she didn't say anything about him, or about Rider, and both of them could definitely be helpful. Rider gives another transportation option with her pegasus, and if she can affect Archer with her eyes that would make for an easy kill, even without Lancer and his spear. Of course, if Lancer does show up, you and he have some unfinished business … which might be why she didn't say anything about him. Or maybe she doesn't think it's worth trying to get them to cooperate? Well, that wouldn't be a problem. You have all sorts of tricks, after all – invisibility is known, of course, but that's an ability that is difficult to outright counter, and all you need it to do is let you get close enough to him to grab onto him, or hit him with Laevateinn. Or you could go invisible and use your clones, either one at a time or in a group, and depending on how he deals with them, it might be worth using them over and over. If he was watching your fight with the Church woman, he'll know about danmaku, but he won't know you can use them to kill, so that should be a surprise if you want to go all-out, and then there's Laevateinn's flame blade. Any one or two of those tricks should be enough to let you win, depending on how you use them, and all of them together would take all the fun out of beating him. You debate the merits of each approach with yourself until you reach Ilya's castle. Most of the lights are off, but someone is moving around in the courtyard, so you dive down.
"Hello, Leysritt! Do you usually take care of the flowers at night?" The homunculus looks somewhat silly with a watering can in one hand and a light hanging from her halberd, but she bows politely and shows no sign of caring about her appearance.
"No. The flowers are Sella's; I am caring for them because she is injured." You jerk in surprise.
"Eh?! Is Ilya okay? How did that happen? Will Sella be fine?" Your wings curl angrily – if anyone attacked this place and managed to escape ….
"Ilya is unharmed. She is asleep right now. Do you want to see her?" You frown. It's not that you don't want to see her, but if she's sleeping because of a fight or something like that then you probably shouldn't wake her up unnecessarily.
"Um, no, it's fine. But what happened? And how is Sella?" She gives you the closest thing to an emotional look that you've seen on her face yet, tilting her head and minutely narrowing her eyes. You can't tell what effect she's going for, however.
"Ilya wanted to use your 'spell card.' Sella disapproved. She tried to do something with the spell card and her arm was damaged." Your wings droop and you lower yourself to the ground. You don't know what they were trying to do with the Spell Card that would physically damage someone's arm, so you're not sure if it's something that can be called your 'fault,' but you still feel guilty. If you hadn't given her the Spell Card, or at least if you'd stayed to show them how it worked, then this wouldn't have happened. "Why are you here? If you didn't want to see Ilya?" Leysritt snaps you out of your depression before it can really take hold of you. You shake your head, clearing it.
"Um. I have a message for Ilya, actually. The Tohsaka girl, the Master of Archer, wants to set up some kind of coalition to fight against the older Archer, the one from the last Grail War. She asks that if Ilya wants to learn more, meet her in front of Ryuudou Temple around seven tomorrow evening. I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet, but I think she's trying to get everyone she can." Leysritt just stands there watching you, so you smile nervously. "Um, that was it. Should I write it down, too, or do you remember it?" She bows.
"I remember it." You nod and take a breath.
"Then … I guess that's what I came for, so I'll be leaving. Um, can you tell Sella that I hope she gets better soon?"
"I will. Good night, Flandre."
"Good night, Leysritt. Bye." You nod your head politely and take to the air once again. You watch the windows as you withdraw, but you don't even know where Ilya's room is, and you don't see any changes anyway, and you fly back to the temple. By the time you nod to Sasaki and pass through the gate, any trace of unhappiness is gone … but what to do now?
What do you do?
[ ] Go to sleep.
- [ ] Ask to be woken up if anything interesting happens.
- [ ] Ask to be woken up if anything important happens.
[ ] Talk to Deis and Caster about Tohsaka's plan.
- [ ] Try to get Caster to see about working with her.
- [ ] Try to get Deis to see about working with her.
- [ ] Try to get Caster to refuse to work with her.
- [ ] Try to get Deis to refuse to work with her.
[ ] Other?
DM Note: Trying to get Caster/Deis to work with Rin isn't necessarily going to make them agree, but they will be more likely to hear her out and offer suggestions/support. It is entirely possible to just talk to them without trying to influence them, of course. And because Flan won't think of it on her own, remember that Flan does have some items that might be useful for one thing or another. It might be worth looking at them and seeing if Caster or Deis can make some use of them, or – if you want Flan to assist Rin – possibly lend one/some to her to keep her alive (especially if you want Deis to use her body instead of Ciel's).
"
